Rick Switzer
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The artist Rick Switzer (Canadian, 1944 - ) is an important and skilled Canadian sculptor born in Oshawa, Ontario.
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[edit] Education and Influences
Switzer graduated from Ontario College of Art in 1972 as an A.O.C.A., majoring in Sculpture. During his studies, he was greatly influenced by the works of Henry Moore, Constantin Brâncuşi, Jean Arp, and Alexander Archipenko.
Switzer's sculptural work, including representational, abstract, conceptual or minimal, is inspired by all the elements of nature. Switzer's preferred form of sculpting is in bronze although his repertoire also includes works in other materials including wood.
[edit] Early Career
In Canada, Switzer worked in the advertising industry for nearly a decade prior to dedicating himself to sculpting on a full-time basis in the early 1980s.
[edit] Example Works
During the 1980s, Switzer focused upon creating monumental size works, including "The Pod" jointly commissioned by Montreal Trust and Manufacturers Life Insurance Company. Created and unveiled in 1989 as tribute to orca whales and donated to the City of Vancouver, "The Pod" is an enormous bronze sculpture of two whales gently riding waves.
Listed in the City of Vancouver Public Art Registry, "The Pod" represents Switzer's bronze master craftsmanship on a large scale, and is located at 510 Burrard Street in Vancouver.
Commissioned by General Motors of Canada from 1994 through 1996, Switzer created "A Tribute to Excellence," a sculpture for General Motor's of Canada Supplier of the Year Award. Upon winning "A Tribute to Excellence" for three consecutive years, Bethlehem Steel commissioned Switzer to create "Signature in Steel". A manifestation of his own boyhood signature cast in bronze darkened with a patina, "Signature in Steel" was Bethlehem Steel's own Supplier of the Year Award issued in recognition of quality and excellence.
Switzer's portfolio also includes works for The Canadian Federal Government, the Town of Whitby, Ontario, and are represented in private collections throughout Canada, the United States, and Europe.
Rick Switzer has been a member of The Sculptors Society of Canada since 1990.
Switzer lives in Pontypool, Ontario with his wife, Kris.
